[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/phpbb/session.php on line 594: sizeof(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/phpbb/session.php on line 650: sizeof(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/phpbb/session.php on line 1072: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3899)[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/phpbb/session.php on line 1072: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3899)[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/phpbb/session.php on line 1072: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3899)[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 494: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use 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preg_replace_callback instead[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 494: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 494: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 494: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 494: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 494: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 494: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 494: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 494: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 494: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 494: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 494: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 494: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 494: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/functions.php on line 5235: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3899)[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/functions.php on line 5235: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3899)[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/functions.php on line 5235: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3899)Aug15 London GNK (Dark Sphere, beginners) 1st/13: Knowledge is Power (France is Bacon) -

I've been playing Netrunner a little while now, but I don't own many cards. A friend told me there would be a GNK for beginners, using the restriction noted above and I jumped at the chance. A little bit of the deck write-ups are on netrunnerdb for each deck, but in brief here: Weyland is a go-fast-or-go-home-or-burn-them build (which is probably what Weyland does best); Valencia is a fixed-breaker, run-often, squeeze-their-HQ-empty build. No blackmail, but that didn't much matter. No wyldside either, but see the deck on netrunnerdb for a wee explanation.

Round one: Robin, Titan and Noise.

Robin slaps Noise down on the table and I think uh-oh. Noise mills cards into Archives. I have no way of getting them out again. So I decide that as Argus I am going to go as fast as I can, and make him forget about Archives. I open smoothly enough, get a Hostile Takeover scored and let him steal a Posted Bounty (bait to see how much he runs). He thinks I am building towards killing him and sees a Scorched Earth in my hand, which only prompts him to rush towards making sure he's richer than me and has enough cards in hand. Great, I think, because that means I'll just keep scoring. I rush out next three agendas. I think he must have thought each time I installed-advanced-advanced in my remote 'oh this time it's a trap'. But I'm Weyland. I don't really do traps. Final score 7-1.

Robin says he felt the opening game was a little one-sided. But our hands aren't shaking as much now, and out comes Valencia and his Titan deck. So, with Titan, I'm think constellation ice and maybe a similar 'let's go swiftly' build. He gets a scoring remote set up and starts scoring. I start focusing on R&D, with a few little peaks at HQ. I get Medium down, and use Archives to get enough Datasucker tokens. Constellation ice is a pretty good counter to the Anarch breakers, because it is such high strength, as I'm finding out. I make one run on his mighty remote and score 3 points. We're sitting at 6-5 to me, and he installs-advances-advances in the remote. I don't have the virus counters to get in, and, after an earlier purge, there's only 1 on Medium. I take money from Armitage, I draw, and I run R&D last click, three deep with ice. He leaves the outer piece, rezzes a Fire Wall, which I break with Corroder, and the bad publicity gets me past the Ice Wall I've been breaking all game. In I go, getting a second Medium counter. Top card is an Ice Wall. Second card is... a 1-pointer. Game. It turns out a) he had the win next turn if I'd not seen that extra card and b) he chose not to rez an Archer so that he could score out the next turn. If he'd rezzed Archer, I wouldn't have got in - I didn't have the Datasucker counters to handle it. 2 games to 0, 4 points.

Round two: Luke, HB and Kit.

I was paired with the fellow who'd had a bye in round one. I thought that was a little unfortunate, arriving on time and then having to sit nervously waiting to get that important first game under your belt. He corped first, playing HB. I was a little anxious because I'd had no practice against Shapers and HB really before this tournament, but I think he was (understandably) more nervous. I figured he'd need lots of money as HB, so I kept a steady barrage against R&D. Click one I ran it, bounced off a Data Raven, click two parasited it and click three ran HQ, just to give a show of pressure. As ice came up, I took it down. He eventually iced Archives to block Datasucker, but I was waltzing into HQ. I also got my nice headlock play in place: giving him bad publicity, drawing cards with Vigil if he kept his hand size up, and then playing Itinerant Protesters, more or less choking him. He did manage to score out a Priority Requisition using Biotic Labor and then rez an Ichi 2.0, but that was a hefty 8-credit investment. He also snuck out an ABT, but I managed to keep up the pressure and clean up. My favourite moment was when I ran a remote, stumbled over another Ichi 2.0, double-clicked to avoid the program trashing but he rezzed and trashed a Tyr's Hand to force one program to go. Bye bye Medium... except I had another in hand and promptly reinstalled it and started running R&D again. 7-5

Next he ran as Kit, and my fears were realised. The weakness of Argus is against someone who can get their breakers speedily (he played Professional Contacts turn one and SMC not far behind) and who has lots of money (out came Magnum Opus soon after). Worse: he installed Decoy turn 1, meaning he could dodge a tag and there was nothing I could do. So my Posted Bounty kills were out, even though I started the game with both Scorched Earth in hand. It became a race to score out. I saw 6 pieces of ice all game, I think, was basically flooded and relying on Snares! to survive. Somehow he allowed me to stay financially afloat, and he stole 6 points off R&D. I managed to score 6 agendas, but they were all 1 pointers. I was desperately waiting for my last 1 point that I could score out of hand, putting all sorts of bait into my scoring remote (Snare!, Ghost Branch, Red Herrings) but he managed to crack into R&D and win, 7-6. 3 games to 1, 6 points. Lunch!

Round 3: Sam, Titan and Noise.

Sam I had seen from across a table. He was quite softly spoken and played very deliberately, and he was 3-1 up too in terms of games. I figured he knew his stuff. He wound up corping first, playing another Titan deck. He got his ice up and started shifting around advancement tokens with Constellation Protocol - that was a big mistake on my part, not using the bad publicity to deal with CP sooner. I saw an Orion on R&D and watched as advancement tokens drifted onto a piece of ice protecting a scoring remote. He scored out 3 points, I think. Meanwhile, I focused on R&D, using bad publicity to keep hitting it. I got the Vigil+Itinerant Protesters squeeze on too, and he was forced to discard down to 2 cards each turn. I kept pressuring R&D, even as the sentries stacked up there. By the end of the game it was Archer, Nebula and then a Searchlight, but he had three bad publicity and was using Archives to get Datasucker tokens. I never ran his remote. I switched to hit his HQ late game and bumbled onto a Wormhole, which cost me my Corroder, so back to R&D I went. Final score 7-2.

We switched over. My biggest fear here was I've Had Worse as an effective Scorched Earth protection. A Snare! got rid of one IHW fairly early. I started the game a little flooded, hoping I'd draw into ice. He had two runs on HQ when I had 3 agendas in hand, and he whiffed both times I think. He said 'I bet you don't even have any' and I smiled and said 'nope'. He spent time hitting R&D rather fruitlessly. I got 2 points out, and he stole 2. I also played out all three PAD campaigns and he left them in play. Then came the clutch play (covered on the deck write-up). I had one Aggressive Negotiation in hand. I installed and double advanced a Hostile Takeover behind a Data Raven but didn't score it, left it on the table. Next turn, I scored it, drew into a second Aggressive Negotiation (what luck!), and played them both to get both Scorched Earths in hand. The window for a Posted Bounty forfeiture came up, and I went for it, chancing that he wouldn't have both IHW in hand. I land the first Scorched, he asks me to take the cards in order (and we discuss whether the damage should be done at once or one card at a time) and it turns out he has... one IHW in hand. So click three, second Scorched and a flatline win. Of note: an amazing kamikaze install crypsis and then stimhack into a server just to steal a double advanced Posted Bounty, which was really impressive. It kept the game going a few turns more and was very admirable indeed. 5-1 in games, 10 points.

They announced placing. I was in the lead, on 10. Luke from round two was on 9 (he had got a timed win worth only 1 point) and Robin from round one was on 8.

Round 4: Aubrey, Titan and Noise (again!)

Aubrey played Noise first. He had some great tokens he was using and his Noise play was really pretty impeccable: viruses out in considered fashion, only installing breakers to neuter my ice. He milled 5 points of agendas into Archives and scored two points off R&D, so he had the win ready (but he didn't know it). I put Archer over Archives (evil!) and tried to distract him by playing horizontally. I got to 4 points I think, and the Posted Bounty and Scorched play came up. I didn't need to forfeit: he ran click three to steal the Bounty, went through a Data Raven, which tagged him, stole the card and got double tagged (power of Argus), and only had 3 credits left, so cleared one tag but was left with one more. Scorcherama!

Final game, versus Titan. What can I say? He went broke hitting me with a Snare! turn 1 off R&D and was frustrated by that from then on, poor fellow. I saw a Builder in R&D and he double-iced that server but didn't rez (and I shied away from running in case the Builder set up an Nebula or what not). He played a great, tricksy game, installing multiple remotes and scoring two Posted Bounties that had just sat on the table for turns. But when he went broke I used the bad publicity to trash his assets and keep him financially choked. I started to pressure R&D, until he saved money and protected it.... and I switched to HQ, taking time to get his bad publicity up and get my Vigil out. My favourite moment was having Itinerant Protesters in hand but spotting Housekeeping in his HQ, so waiting for him to play it, then slapping IP onto the table to wipe it. I got him down to two cards in hand with easy access to HQ. Both were agendas. Game, 7-2.

Final ranking, 7-1, 14 points, first place. WOOP. Utterly delighted!

Huge thanks to Tagore for organising and Dark Sphere for hosting and the wonderful opponents (and lovely fellows from the main tournament who came over to watch, ask how we were doing and encourage us. Really lovely!). Shout out to Patrick for being a pro!

Oh thank you very much, for both. I hope the report's ok and has enough detail. It's funny how it all seems a bit blank on reflection, and then as I thought more carefully about individual games, little plays and quirks came up. I don't know how people remember a day's worth of games with a cut and everything else! But it was a great fun few hours.

Congrats on taking Argus all the way - a man after my own heart. I'm glad that after scorching you all those months ago at Dark Sphere that you are now doing it to others! We have to uphold our reputation in London for killing all runners who come near.

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